Silicon Prairie News

Posts by Michael Stacy
SERIES

Prairie Portrait: Lyndsay Clark of Hatchlings

3601_e901d466fb_small February 8, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Des Moines Bio: A Des Moines native with entrepreneurial parents responsible for raising me with a strong work ethic and passion to build things. Constantly looking to listen and learn — from what music I should queue up to a great book or blog I should be reading. | Title: Lead Interactive Designer at Hatchlings | Age: 24 | City: Des Moines, Iowa | Website: hatchlings.com | Twitter: @lyndsayclark | Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/lyndsayclark/ | Intro music: I may be partial (my brother is in the band), but I can’t get enough of St. Lucia’s "We Got It Wrong." | Silicon Prairie News: You joined Hatchlings during what CEO Brad Dwyer calls a "re-startup" phase for the company. What does that mean to you, and how do you see it manifested … read more

NEWS

foursquare names Des Moines winner of ‘city badge,’ credits Drake class

3597_9c8a70b619_small February 8, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Des Moines Been there. Done that. Have the foursquare badge. For folks that make the rounds in Des Moines, that's now a possibility, thanks to a grassroots effort led by Chris Snider and his students at Drake University. foursquare announced today that Des Moines is one of five cities nationwide that earned its own badge in the foursquare city badge contest. foursquare, the popular, location-based mobile app that's a social network and rewards platform, last month challenged people to create and … read more

PROFILES

‘Hacker spirit’ pushes Shift’s Sinclair to keep tinkering, building

3594_33823b722b_small February 8, 2012 by Michael Stacy

West Des Moines If it’s Friday and it’s lunchtime and Ben Sinclair isn’t at Performance Marketing’s West Des Moines offices, it’s a pretty safe bet where he is instead. He’s making a beeline to the buffet line. Mind you, he’s not there for the fare — Sinclair gives the food a review that’s lukewarm at best — but to satisfy another appetite. “The food isn’t the best,” Sinclair said. “But it’s mainly an excuse to get together and talk about radio stuff.” Sinclair, 33, is a developer of Web … read more

NEWS

Proxibid hires ‘pioneer’ Larry Latham for business development boost

3592_814cf4ac9b_small February 7, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Omaha When Proxibid president Ryan Downs sat down for an interview with Silicon Prairie News in September, Downs highlighted two goals at the top of his company's to-do list for the immediate future: growth of the marketplace and international expansion. With its latest hire, Proxibid appears to be backing up Downs' talk. The Omaha-based real auction marketplace announced Monday that Larry Latham, billed by Proxibid as an "auction industry pioneer," has joined its team to add focus to its business development strategy. "I am very excited about the opportunity … read more

NEWS

Legal Sonar uses social networks to help attorneys, clients find right fit

3589_3da9e778c4_small February 7, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Overland Park During her time practicing law and in the years since, Diana Kander has come to believe that almost no amount of … read more

SERIES

Prairie Portrait: Amanda Garner of Nebraska Global

3584_58397a167d_small February 6, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Lincoln Bio: Do-Gooder, information gatherer, data nerd, pop culture observer, made in Nebraska | Title: Director of Community Outreach, Nebraska Global | Age: 34 | City: Lincoln, Neb. | Website: nebraskaglobal.com | Twitter: @amandanebr | Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/amanda-garner/ | Intro music: "There's Always Someone Cooler Than You" by Ben Folds | Silicon Prairie News: As the person in charge of organizing Nebraska Global's philanthropic and service work, how have you seen building software companies and serving the community complement each other? | Amanda Garner: It's about problem solving. We volunteer time to help organizations solve problems to make our community … read more

NEWS

Gig Bits: Crews laying fiber in Kansas City, Google applies to test Wi-Fi

3583_d8ceca30e2_small February 6, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Kansas City Google announced in a blog post published in the wee hours this morning that crews in Kansas City are ready to begin construction of the company's much ballyhooed ultra high-speed fiber network. "We’ve measured utility poles; we’ve studied maps and surveyed neighborhoods; we’ve come up with a comprehensive set of detailed … read more

NEWS

Meet AgLocal, the online market for local meat picked to pitch at SXSW

3571_a78c4aa73a_small February 3, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Overland Park With South By Southwest Interactive and the fourth annual SXSW Accelerator on the horizon, a Silicon Prairie standard bearer has emerged. It was announced on Monday that AgLocal, a startup based in Overland Park, Kan., was chosen from more than 670 companies as one of the 48 that will participate in the Accelerator on March 12-13 in Austin, Texas. AgLocal will compete in the "Innovative Web Technologies" portion of the Accelerator. Co-founded by Naithan Jones and Jacob McDaniel, AgLocal is a … read more

SERIES

Prairie Portrait: Andrew Wirick of GoodTwin

3574_2bc98df116_small February 3, 2012 by Michael Stacy

Omaha Bio: Aspiring well funder. Penn State Alumni. Front-end web dev., amateur investor, home brewer and newly minted triathlete. | Title: Partner and Brewmaster at GoodTwin Inc. | Age: 29 | City: Omaha, Neb. | Website: andrewwirick.com | Twitter: @amwirick | Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/andrewwirick | Intro music: "Saeed" by Infected Mushroom | Silicon Prairie News: Adam Nielsen, your partner at GoodTwin, called your November arrival "a shift in strategy and culture" for the company. How has that shift manifested itself the last couple of months? | Andrew Wirick: Adam and I have taken time daily to focus on the non-urgent but very important issues that are key for GoodTwin's success. We've already changed the physical space …  read more

NEWS

Tej Dhawan reflects on the inaugural Iowa Startup Fair (Video)

3573_c501a40d4f_small February 3, 2012 by Christopher New & Michael Stacy

Des Moines As we reported in a story published Thursday, more than 400 people attended Iowa’s first Startup Fair, held Wednesday evening in six venues across the state. Designed to create valuable connections between the startup and broader business communities, the free event included exhibits from more than 100 … read more

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